O’MALLEY-MOORES TALKS CONTINUING

Leaders of the O’Malley Group continued to negotiate with Padres majority owner John Moores on Friday although no sale has been finalized.

A source said negotiations could continue throughout the weekend because one of the parties involved is scheduled to leave the country on vacation early next week.

“Something should be done by Monday or Tuesday morning,” said the source.

Another source said the parties are still discussing details.

“Progress is being made but no agreement has been reached,” said the source. “I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about, but until there is an agreement anything can happen.”

Moores owns 51.68 percent of the Padres. The minority group originally put together by Jeff Moorad but now headed by San Diego businessman Ron Fowler owns 49.32 percent.

The O’Malley Group is headed by the heirs of former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley and includes professional golfer Phil Mickelson.

Tryin’ one

There’s an old pilots’ saying, usually said by old pilots: When you’re careening out of control to earth and you’ve tried everything to keep from crashing, try something else. Try anything else.

That’s what the Colorado Rockies seem to be doing with a pitching rotation that’s ranked last — extremely last — in the major leagues with a collective ERA of 6.53 before Friday’s game. The new plan is for four starters to work on three days’ rest and throw 75 pitches, turning the ball over to a paired reliever who’ll be limited to 50 pitches and letting a bevy of other relievers finish up when necessary.

“Piggybanking,” it’s called.

“You have to be prepared for a number of relievers, first of all,” said Padres manager Bud Black, asked about the opponents’ perspective on the new Colorado setup. “If you have a heavy right-handed lineup in there against a left-handed pitcher, before you know it, you’ve got a right-handed pitcher right in there behind him. The whole idea of trying to get the right lineup with the right matchups against a certain starter might not come into play as much if they’re planning on using four or five guys a night.”

Thing is, as of Friday, the Rockies had only three pitchers designated as starters in their clubhouse. The youngster who was due to start Sunday’s game against the Padres, Edwar Cabrera, was optioned back to Triple-A Colorado Springs after lasting only 2 1/3 innings in his only start for Colorado and allowing seven runs (five earned) on three homers and three walks.

Indications are that Colorado might call up lefty Drew Pomeranz — the fifth overall pick of the 2010 draft, obtained from the Cleveland Indians in trade for Ubaldo Jiminez — for Sunday’s start. In his first stint with the Rockies, Pomeranz went 2-0, 5.40.

Interestingly, part of the reason the Rockies have gone to “piggybanking” is a rash of injuries to pitchers. Colorado’s had 11 different starters, which is still two fewer than San Diego’s total.

Moment of silence

The Rockies became the latest team to hold a moment of silence in memory of Padres bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds before their series-opening game against San Diego. This tribute was especially powerful in that Akerfelds grew up in Denver, where he was a multisport star at Columbine High.